Around Here: Week 27 2021

 {June 27-July 3rd}

{wrong way!}

{spot the butterfly}

{little froggy in our tent}

{if you know what this plant is, please tell me. I love it!}

The Whole Gang
Grady, Josh, Shelly, Wyatt, Andrea, Taylor, Liesel, Gustav, Logan, Carly, Gisele & Jack
(and Gwyneth is hiding behind Liesel)

{Burgerville Portland Cold Brew milkshake- highly recommend!}

Camping... at Trout Lake with Josh's sister Andrea, her husband Tay, and their kids.  Their son Gustav is the same age as our twins; their daughter Gisele is the same age as Wyatt; and their daughter Liesel is a year older than Carly, so the kids are all perfect matches and the best of friends.  

When Andrea and Taylor found out they were pregnant with Gustav we lived next door to each other in a set of duplexes.  A few months later I got pregnant, and our three boys were raised for about a year together- lots of cousin time, grandma time and memories- before they moved into their house. 

So Sunday morning we packed up for camping and headed out, the van stuffed to the gills, excited to see family and spend time with them.  In addition to a full trunk, the van was also pulling a trailer with more stuff, in 110 degree heat, and before we'd made it even two hours, the van started overheating.  We circled back to the nearest city and got antifreeze in case it was low, and started off again.  
Antifreeze, however, wasn't our problem and any time we had to go uphill, the van would start to overheat.  Thankfully Josh remembered a trick that works to open the thermostat so water can flow through more easily and cool it.  That trick was a little uncomfortable, however, considering the extreme heat and six humans, plus a full size German shepherd, in our vehicle.  Every time we would start uphill, he would have to turn off the AC and run the heat full blast.  It was absolutely miserable, hot as blazes, but it worked.  We made it to the campground safely (after a wrong turn down a one way road- with a trailer, mind you- and what felt like an eternity driving with the heat on). 

Taking... Grady camping for the first time.  He loved every minute of it, and was so well behaved.  We brought his long lead that we tie him to in the front yard so he could move pretty freely about our campsite and he slept each night in his crate just outside our tent, next to Josh and I. 
Josh's sister also brought her dog, an adorable labradoodle named Gwyneth.  The two dogs had so much fun playing together.

Realizing... joyfully that our campground had the most beautiful view of Mt. Adams and the COLDEST fresh water creek for the kids to play and swim in.  It was absolutely beautiful.  We spent a large part of each day at the creek, letting the dogs swim (turns out Grady LOVES the water!) and sitting in our lawn chairs up to our knees in the water, reading our books. 

Enduring... two migraines during our time camping.  My migraines are honestly just a part of life at this point for me, but I still get bummed when instead of having fun I am suffering.  Thankfully I have meds that I can take (sumatriptan) when I get a migraine and that makes it go away (completely) after about two hours.  They make me feel super gross first, but then I am 100%, which is amazing. 

Because of my migraine I did a lot of resting the first two days and drank sooo much water. 

Cooking... smores over the campfire after dinner each night and loving it.  The kids are so fun to watch as they toast and burn and drop the marshmallows, Carly just eating the chocolate straight up.  I loved impressing them with my master chef abilities to brown a marshmallow just right without burning it. The days when my twins in particular are impressed by me are few and far between these days, so my smore making felt like a real win. 

Needing... lights during evening campfire.  As Andrea and Tay were setting up the lanterns between the chairs around the campfire, I thought, "Huh.  I've never used lights around the campfire.  We always just sat at the fire in the dark."  Then it occurred to me that without the lights, we wouldn't be able to effectively communicate, as Andrea and Taylor are Deaf.  Jack also asked why we needed the lights and I explained and he, too was like, "Oh yeah!" I think we both felt silly.  The lamps worked great for illuminating each of us so we could read each other's signs and we stayed up way too late each night talking and laughing.

Sleeping... under the stars in our tent with the cover off, the universe sparkling above us through the netting.  It truly felt magical.  Thankfully it cooled down some in the evenings, so we weren't too miserable sleeping, but during the day was a different story!

Relishing... a few days under the trees.  I grew up in the pacific northwest so the trees feel like home to me.  Now we reside in the desert of central Washington, so I no longer take the trees and all the green for granted. 

Enjoying... the company of my sister and brother in law and nieces and nephew so very much.  There was so much laughter and good conversations, so much love and sharing, so much of each of the adults taking turns being in charge of all the chaos of seven children. It was just lovely.  I think we all ended up having a great time. 

Suffering... mosquito bites and sunburns as we camped during a terrible northwest heat wave, and temps reach 114 degrees while we were there.  I have literally never been as hot as I was when we were setting up camp on Sunday.  No breeze, just the sun baking down on us and mosquitos eating our flesh during the morning and evening hours.  We went through (collectively) six cans of bug spray, I believe.  And Wyatt still looked like he had been attacked by hornets.  He seems to be somewhat allergic to mosquito bites and every bite swelled up an inch or two, and the kid was just miserable.  

Running... out of water as the campground's water smelled like rotten eggs and we went through WAY more water than I had imagined we would with the intense temperatures and thirsty children and dogs.  Thankfully Josh and his sister ran to the nearest Walmart (over an hour away) and got us more water and ice.  

Reading...and finishing Good Company by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney.  It was good to read. I liked so much of the writing. It was four stars. After that I started reading Maine and enjoyed the story so much.  It wasn't as light a read as I was hoping (I was thinking it would be more like Elin Hilderbrand's beach books) but I did like it and I was invested with the characters. 
I also enjoyed watching Josh read. I tell him that there's nothing hotter than seeing him read. I mean, for reals, it makes me so ridiculously happy.  Love that man. 

Remembering... how much I love camp naps.  Is there anything better than crawling onto your air mattress in your tent in the middle of the day and taking a nap?  I would put a tent in our backyard just so I could nap in it everyday. The sun streaming through the tent's nylon walls... just the best. 

Tucking... the kids into bed one night to find a frog on Carly's pillow in her hair as she slept.  I had laid her down earlier and as I was getting the boys settled in for the night, there was a swoosh and a jump and as I turned to see what it was, there was the tiniest, sticky green frog on her head.  I gently scooped it up with both my hands, trying to free it from her hair and put it back outside the tent.  The next morning we found at least three more frogs in our tent, hopping along sleeping bags and around luggage.  Turns out we had a hole in the side of our tent and that's where they were getting in. Hah!  You can't make this stuff up. 

Laughing... when a set of the Yard Golf balls got stuck in a tree and Josh made it his mission to climb said tree and retrieve them.  I was so impressed with his upper body strength.  Sure enough eventually we got them down and Josh was the hero.

Doing... all three girls' hair one morning and enjoying it so much.  Gisele has the thickest, most beautiful hair and it was really fun to play with.  The little girls looked just adorable.

Loving...  the pair of butterflies that constantly flew around our campsite in the mornings.  They were the prettiest yellow, and their flapping wings were mesmerizing. 

Feeling... grateful for Andrea's RV when the afternoons were hot and the sun was relentless, as the kids would go in there and watch movies together. (Except for one afternoon when the power kept going out! Thankfully the camp host was able to fix it.) I was also crazy grateful for her RV (and how generous she was in sharing her family's space) when on the last night Wyatt started coughing.  
We had noticed some smoke roll in from a nearby wildfire and I was wondering how Wyatt would do.  He was fine that afternoon and evening, but as he slept in our open air tent his little lungs got tired. Thankfully we could take him in the RV where the air is filtered and he got respite from the smoke. 

Patting... myself on the back for being such a prepared mama.  As a six (do you know your ennegram number? I'm a 6) I am always prepared for the "worst case/what if" scenarios and in this case, I was so, so glad I was.  As Wyatt continued coughing from the smoke in even after moving into Andrea's trailer, his oxygen desaturated from 96 to 90 and I was freaking out.  Thankfully I was able to grab his nebulizer (and meds) from the van and we were able to get albuterol in him immediately (and in the best form) all because I always play "worst case scenario" in my mind and had brought it with us. 

Ordering... a Portland Cold Brew milkshake from Burgerville. It was soooo yummy! I miss Burgerville so much! We don't have any in our area. 

Canceling... the KOA camping trip we had planned for July as soon as we got home from this one. Between Wyatt's sensitive lungs and the heat and the mosquitos (not to mention the frogs!) we decided that tent camping is just not for us.  We may go once a year (with Josh's sister's family) and rent a cabin or RV, but I can't in good conscience have Wyatt exposed and not have a safe place for him to go if the air quality tanks. 

Unpacking... from camping and doing laundry for DAYSSSSS afterward.  

Listening... to Burnout on audio and feeling so validated that my overwhelm throughout last school year and even up until now is real. Highly recommend for women & mama's.

Riveted... by Britney Spears' story and following @houseofhabit on Instagram religiously for updates. 

Struggling... with ants everywhere in our house suddenly.  They're coming from the hall closet and an outlet in the kitchen. Blah! Thankfully Josh went and got spray and sprayed outside the house and along the hall closet carpeting.  I think it's been resolved but man! So gross & annoying!

Sending... Josh off for a fun day of golf with my sister and cousins husbands.  They all had a great time and took a much needed break from being fathers/husbands and got to just be with the guys. Love them!

***